twojags

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For many years I have been avidly adding LGB and other European outline G gauge trains to my personal collection with a view to creating a garden railway set somewhere in Germany / Austria. Following a trip to Colorado, I switched my allegiance to the Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad (D&RGW) and started collecting suitable locomotives and rolling stock. I am now in the process of constructing just such a railroad in the garden and I have reluctantly come to the conclusion that the 1:22.5 scale European stock is not going to look at home on my American themed 1:20.3 layout.

I have listed these items on eBay and am also posting them on G Scale Central at a discount to the eBay price + postage if members are interested. All items are boxed. Please see detailed description on eBay.

LGB STEAM TANK LOCOMOTIVE "SPREEWALD" DEV LIGHTS AND SMOKE 22741 “Previously owned but in very good condition with minimal use only. Sound running condition. Unable to test smoke generator but all lights work perfectly.” See images on eBay

SPREEWALD JUST SOLD ON EBAY FOR THE FULL ASKING PRICE

LGB STEAM TANK LOCOMOTIVE DR 996001 HARZ SOUND, LIGHTS AND SMOKE 2080S SUPER“Previously owned but in good running condition. Unable to test smoke generator but lights and sounds work fine. One of the pipe details is loose but just needs a drop of glue. A little bit dusty and box shows signs of wear.” eBay: £409 Offer £360 including Next Day Courier Delivery

HARZ HAS ALSO BEEN SOLD

LGB MALLET 0-6-6-0 STEAM TANK LOCOMOTIVE FUTABA RADIO CONTROL G GAUGE 2085D USED (NON-WORKING)“Previously owned but in very good cosmetic boxed condition. Unable to test run locomotive or smoke generator as unfamiliar with Futaba Radio Control Unit / Receiver / QSI Decoder. One rear light not working. The box is a bit tired. Please read the description carefully.”

MALLET IS NOW SOLD

TRAINLINE 45 HSB PASSENGER COACHES IN LGB RED 900-433,900-434,900-435,900-516 NEW“New and Unused” Four different HSC passenger cars in LGB style livery.ALL COACHES ARE NOW SOLD

For the avoidance of doubt and to avoid confusion please note that to qualify for the lower prices purchases must be made direct and not via eBay as I am unable to adjust them after checkout. Thank you.

The mechanic

Registered

twojags

Registered

Not yet. it is in lovely condition and worked perfectly when I tested it in our previous house but declines to move in our new residence. I have fully charged the Futaba R/C Unit so perhaps the decoder is not responding. Needs an expert! Kind regards John

twojags

Registered

That is good. I would be interested to know what the problem was when you get it going. It may be the Radio Control Unit that is faulty. Unfortunately, R/C and DCC are a complete mystery me so I will stick to good old Analog. Good luck.

maxi-model

UK/US/ROW steam narrow gauge railways 1:1

When I make my planned trip to Colorado in a couple of years time, subsequent to retirement, I no doubt will as a result switch my allegiance to Euro NG from US. But then I'm just perverse and by then, in my dotage, will be confused too. Or will one condition cancel out the other ? Anyway, another convert to the cause. Max.

The mechanic

Registered

That is good. I would be interested to know what the problem was when you get it going. It may be the Radio Control Unit that is faulty. Unfortunately, R/C and DCC are a complete mystery me so I will stick to good old Analog. Good luck.

Postie delivered the loco on Wednesday morning, that was a mighty box - SHMBO had a fit! Anyway, didn't have much time as I was going to work.

Last night had a better look at the beast. Couple of things became apparent straight away...

The loco was not and is not, fitted with any form of DCC decoder or sound decoder, sound system, etc. There are a dozen and a half rechargeable C cells in there and a couple of massive dielectric capacitors all of which looked OK.

The control unit is a Mk1 Brian Jones mac five radio control speed controller.

I put an avo across the wiring, control unit, etc. Everything checked out as it should. So everything was parcelled back into the engine and the batteries were put on charge overnight ( after checking charger output voltage). Transmitter batteries were also given a good charge overnight.

With 95% signal output from the transmitter, I flicked the charge switch to run - nothing happened.

I checked output from C cells, there was a healthy 18-20 volts -looking good!

I then followed the wiring from the speed controller to the receiver, nothing to report.

I removed the connector to the receiver, there was power where there should be, everything should work, but it wouldn't.

The receiver supply cable was connected to channel 2 on the receiver, I took it out and noted the pins were a little dark through a glass. I "jiggled" the connector around a bit ( Arkwright- style) and bingo, the beast sprung to life!

I used some contact cleaner to ensure there was no repeat.

Now I can't wait to use her in anger and see what she'll do!

I've shot a short clip showing her running up and down my dining table, my workbench for the winter! *I have tried numerous times to upload the clip, but after uploading 100%, the site denies loading. I'll try again tomorrow.

Thanks once again for a truly iconic model - I'm " over the moon " with her!

twojags

Registered

Absolutely delighted to learn that you managed to find the problem after much forensic investigation. I had no idea where to start. I am surprised that the locomotive was not fitted with a decoder. I acquired it from an enthusiast in the IOM and had understood that it had been fitted with a QSI chip but I must have misunderstood. I am still struggling to understand the intricacies of DCC - there is certainly a lot more to it than just connecting two wires to the track!

Have eventually managed to view your video of the Mallet in motion. Seems to run smoothly on your tabletop. My Windows 10 initially refused to open the file as it was in MOV format. Eventually, I downloaded Quicktime 7 despite the warning on the site that Apple no longer supports the Windows version and it might not run properly on systems after Windows 7 anyway. At the third attempt it ran fine.

It is bitterly cold on the South Coast at the moment so not really suitable for running anything in the garden but when you get the opportunity to try out the Mallet on your track I would love to see a video.